President-elect
Barack Obama announced Monday that Los Angeles deputy
mayor Nancy Sutley will be a senior member of his
environmental team. As reported
last week, Sutley's name was leaked as LGBT
groups were urging the presidential transition team to
appoint out members to the cabinet.
Sutley has been
named the head of the White House Council on
Environmental Quality, along with Nobelist Steven Chu, who
was named secretary of Energy, and Lisa Jackson,
selected to head the Environmental Protection Agency.
"This time has to be different," Obama said at a press
conference. "This time we cannot fail."
Sutley has
previously served in various roles on the federal and state
level for environmental agencies. She was an adviser to
former Caliofrnia governor Gray Davis, served on the
state's Water Resources Control Board, and was the
state Environmental Agency's deputy secretary for policy and
intergovernmental relations.
"President-elect
Obama's nomination of Nancy Sutley is another step
toward full equality for gay Americans," Chuck Wolfe of the
Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund said in a statement
Monday. "It sends a signal to young people that they
can participate in their government at its highest
levels, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender, or
ethnicity. We will continue to work hard to ensure
qualified, talented individuals like Nancy Sutley who
are openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender can
serve at all levels of government."
Sutley worked for
Secretary of State appointee Hillary Clinton during her
primary bid for the presidency. She was the campaign chair
for the LGBT steering committee in California.
(Advocate.com)